


Under Shadows

by Hexabeetle



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27328477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexabeetle/pseuds/Hexabeetle
Summary: Hordak's defect becomes know to Catra before Shadow Weaver's escape and a coup soon follows. Things do not go well.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

Catra walked into Hordak’s throne room. Well… not Hordak’s anymore, not after their little coup. When she’d found him collapsed and gasping on the floor, seeing how weak he really was, she’d gone straight to the brig; straight to Shadow Weaver. Now Weaver sat on the throne, and Hordak was… well not in the brig apparently, that’s what she was here to ask about.

“Shadow Weaver.” She called up. “Where’s Hordak? I want to gloat but I can’t find him anywhere.” Shadow Weaver sighed and put down the file she was reading. 

“Oh Catra, I’m disappointed you couldn’t sniff him out.” Catra flinched, but stayed quiet. “We’re not keeping him in the brig, it’s too easy to escape from, as you can see.” She gestured grandly at herself.

“Well… where is he?”

“We’re keeping him in the undercrofts, dear. Sector U3.” Catra bowed and started to walk away. “Make sure you bring a light.”

“She wasn’t kidding.” Catra walked through the chill darkness. She’d ignored Weaver, trusting her excellent night vision. “Stupid.” She said out loud.

“Finally you admit it.” Came the low growling response. She managed to stop herself from jumping, and peered into the black where a pair of glowing red eyes and fangs flashed briefly.

“I’m not the one in a cage.” She snarked and he hissed at her. “Look at you, the Might Lord Hordak. Well… not so mighty without your armour.” She moved up to the bars, fixed on his glowing eyes. “I knew you had secrets, but I never imagined you were so weak.” His eyes widened a fraction at that and she pulled back, not fast enough to avoid a claw grazing her face. There was a rattling clank and he made a choking noise as the chain around his neck ran out of slack. Catra backed up against the wall, breathing fast, she forced herself off and started walking away. “Have fun in the dark.”

“Catra dear, what happened.” Shadow Weaver held her in an icy grip as she inspected the shallow gash on her face.

“It’s nothing Shadow Weaver, he just surprised me.” Catra admitted.

“Well we can’t have that, can we? Don’t worry dear, he won’t be able to hurt you again.” A strange warmth filled her when she heard those words. 

“Thanks, Shadow Weaver.” She just had to ignore the twisting chill it concealed.

The next time she ventured into the dark she brought a glow lantern. “Hey Hordak.” She sang out, laughing. “How are you enjoying your new Sanctum?” When there was no response she swung the lantern around to illuminate the cage.

He was sitting in the far corner, arms slung over his knees and his head slumped. She could see, very clearly see, where the fingers and toes ended in raw bloody stumps. “Holy shit.” She gasped quietly. His face turned up to look at her, eyes a pale yellow. Pain was carved into his narrow face and he looked utterly exhausted. “What did they… why?” She demanded but he didn’t respond, just shuffled around to turn away from her. Sympathy pains ached over ofer own clawed digits. 

A shrill tone sounded, painfully loud to her ears. She yelped and watched Hordak flinch. “What the fuck was that?” He didn’t answer immediately. A second tone blared, then a third immediately after.

“It’s randomised.” He muttered quietly. She backed away before leaving without saying a word, distantly she heard another shriek.

The attendance buzzing rang and she shuddered. That awful noise had been stuck in her head for days, hopefully Orientation would take her mind off of Hordak. She watched Scorpia take the stage, looking for all Etheria like a deer in headlights, a loose bundle of notes held in her claw.

Catra was sitting alone in the front row, the place was full of new people and very few familiar faces; not after Weaver had purged all of the old guard. Someone slid through the door just as Scorpia began and sat down with the goon squad muttering behind her. Catra groaned, she could smell the stink of sex from here.

“Dude, have a shower first.” Apparently she wasn’t the only one.

“What, and miss this?” He whispered back and they all tittered like crechelings. They went quiet for a while before starting back up.

“Who’d let you touch them anyway?” Someone asked the latecomer snorted.

“Anyone I want.” he replied and they laughed again.”But this one wasn’t too into it. Weedy little bitch though so it didn’t matter.”

Catra clenched her fists. Alright, if she killed them then it would be no big loss. Garbage chute was right outside the alleys anyway.

“That fucking noise was a real mood killer though.” He said off hand and Catra’s heart froze. ‘No. No, please no.’

“Worth it though?” One asked and he replied. “Hell yeah, feels just like an Etherian but like… sharper.”

She was breathing heavily now. Chest pounding.

“Sweet dude, that sounds… god it’s been a while.”

“Yeah I know what you mean.”

Shadow Weaver can help, she’ll help.

“Maybe we can even get the buzzer turned off.”

“Won’t the boss find out?”

“Nah man, she suggested it!”

Orientation ended and Catra sprinted from the room, leaving a confused Scorpia stumbling behind her. She ripped a glow lantern off the wall and ran down to the under-crofts. Coherent thought wouldn't come to her, just bling panic and pain in her chest. She heard the noise blaring and ran faster.

He was crushed up into the back corner of the cage, naked and slick with sweat despite the freezing air. 

"Hordak?" She said quietly and he made a noise that was half mewl half sob and squeezed tighter into a ball. 

There was a lot of dark blood spattered around on the floor. "Hordak I'm-" The tone shrieked, cutting her off, and Hordak banged his head onto the ground. 

"Stop that!" She yelled and he shuddered. "No Hordak, not..." Catra looked around helplessly. The cage was made from durasteel and she couldn't ever see a door or lock anywhere. "I'm going to get you out Hordak, ok? I'm gonna get you out." He whimpered again.

She started looking around for something, anything to pry a bar wider. The tone played and she jumped, and in the distance she heard something. "Shit, what the hells?" She froze.

"Don't worry, it won't bother you whilst you have your fun." Shadow Weaver's voice flowed out of the darkness. 

Catra's eyes went wide and she threw herself at the lantern, dousing it, and forcing herself into a tiny nook, just out of sight. Shadow Weaver and four of the thugs from orientation came round the corner, glow lamps casting mad shadows over every surface. They came to a stop before the cage and Weaver waved a hand, there was a click.

"Make sure you shut it when you are done." She turned to the back of the room. "Enjoy yourself, Lord Hordak, I have to check in on our resident Princess." 

Catra froze, part way through slipping away. Entrapta, she had forgotten about Entrapta.

She hadn't been able to check on Entrapta for far too long. Shadow Weaver had her out in the field constantly, the punishing pace had stopped her from even talking to Scorpia, not that she'd burden the other force captain with what she'd found. Now that she had time though she discovered another problem; she had no idea where the princess was being held, and Shadow Weaver certainly wouldn't have any fondness for her after the Black Garnet debacle. She dropped onto the cot in her quarters and screamed into the pillow. "Where are you 'Traps?" 

"Catra." Hordak's voice boomed down from the vents. She screamed and whipped round, catching a tiny set of yellow eyes peering at her.

"Imp? You're ok!" She jumped up and grabbed the vent, pulling her face close. Imp scurried back from her, hissing. "No no please, I need your help. We need to find Entrapta, and then we can get Hordak out. Please Imp." The little monster shuffled back over to her and cautiously touched her finger. 

"Take her to Isolation Cell 6." Shadow Weaver's voice slid out. "We can make use of her skills there." 

"Isolation Cells? Where are they?" Imp screeched at her and moved deeper into the vent, looking back at her. Her eyes went wide and she pried the vent cover off. "Show me."

Eventually Imp stopped at a small vent hole, barely big enough for Catra to squeeze through. 

"This it?" She asked and Imp nodded.

Her heel popped the vent loose and she wriggled through it, landing in low crouch in the large brilliantly lit corridor. There was a long row of cells with wide two-way mirror walls facing the corridor. "I never knew this place existed." She said to herself. Imp landed on her shoulder and opened his mouth.

"I do not see the point." Hordak's voice played.

"Yeah, doesn't seem his style." Catra agreed, walking down the corridor. Most of them held a single occupant, she recognised Octavia lying down on the bright floor in one. "So this is where they all went..." She gasped. "Entrapta!"

The final cell held the princess. She was wearing the same grey jumpsuit all the other prisoners were but she was sitting cross-legged in the middle of a black circle on the floor, her hair was bound in some kind of dark, pulsing wire and was hanging limp behind her. In her hand was a datapad and her eyes were almost black with fatigue. Catra banged on the glass and yelled her name but she didn't react, instead she put the pad down and rubbed her eyes. She must have taken too long though because a light next to Catra flashed red and Entrapta jolted, yelling in pain, before snatching it back up with shaking hands and typing away again, tears running down her face.

Catra yelled again, but the keypad wouldn't accept her badge and she didn't know the code. Imp screeched at her from the vent and she heard pounding footsteps approaching. With a graceful leap she clambered back into the vent, and followed Imp back to her room. She tumbled out of the vent and crawled to her bed, she couldn't stop crying. She did this, it was her fault. Imp landed next to her and she reached for him. 

He yelled at her in Entrapta's panicked voice, "No don't touch me!", and flew back, pulling the vent shut behind him and leaving her alone.

She debated telling Scorpia, she really did, but she knew what would happen; Scorpia would ball and cry and then try and tear Shadow Weaver apart with her claws. And she'd die. Her old squad mates were out on permanent field rotation, so even if they survived the princesses they wouldn't be any help. Shadow Weaver had twisted the entire command structure to her will and Catra was alone. She would need a plan, she would need- The alarms blared.

"What now!" She screamed!

Bow was _not_ having a Good Month. First they had had to fend off wave after wave of seemingly suicidal Horde attacks, then Glimmer had insisted they 'Take a quick look' to see what had caused it and now he was lost in the Fright Zone, stumbling around in the dark after some horrifying magical mutant had scattered them all around. There was something else wrong here, he realised, last time the Fright Zone had been creepy but now it was downright eldritch. 

The shadows kept shifting in the corners of his eyes and he could definitely hear whispering voices. "Why do I always let Glimmer drag me into these messes?" He said to himself, and tried to ignore the whispering answers in the back of his head. He tried so hard in fact that he missed the loose plating and tumbled into pitch black darkness.

"Uuuurgh." Bow groaned and rolled over onto his back. He was in total darkness, lying on a cold, damp slab of concrete. Sitting up he reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow. With a twist the head burst into cool white light, illuminating the dank cage he was sitting in. It also showed him the huge, lanky thing sitting in the corner staring at him. They both screamed.

It took a moment for Bow to realise the being in the cage with him was absolutely more terrified of him than he was of it. They were pressed up against the far wall, battered and bruised, with their long blue-black hair plastered across a skullish face. Pale yellow eyes were wide and locked onto Bow, flinching at every movement. He went to speak, to say something reassuring, when an awful noise blasted out of a hidden speaker. It was loud enough to hurt, forcing Bow to cover his ears, but the other creature barely reacted; just a shiver. When it passed Bow tried again. 

"Hey, don't worry I won't hurt you. My name's Bow." They just stared at him in silent fear. "It's ok." 

He took a step closer and they shrank back even more, whimpering. "Ah no no, please." Bow backed off fast. "I'm sorry." He looked at what he presumed was the door and gave it a yank, it didn't budge but his new friend made a keening noise behind him. "I'll get us out of here." A little more digging produced an arrow that erupted into a sputtering torch and he began cutting through a bar, wincing when the noise played again. With a far too loud clatter the bar fell to the ground and he squeezed through, turning around to look at the other creature.

"Come on, we can get out of here." The look he saw broke him, so full of fear and pain. "It'll be ok, we'll take care of you." He pleaded. The noise again, another shiver, and now distant footsteps. They started to hyperventilate, breathing so fast Bow thought their scarred chest would burst. He looked towards when the footsteps were coming from and then back into the cage. "I'll come back for you." He ran off into the darkness, leaving Hordak to slump onto the floor weeping silently.

My dear, dear Catra." Shadow Weaver walked around her as she stood in the centre of the throne room. "Why were you in the isolation cells?" Catra was frozen in place, terrified that if she moved the dark tendrils of shadow licking at her legs would strike. She took a deep breath.

"I thought I saw Hordak's little baby thing in the vents and I tried to chase it down." She swallowed. "I was stupid, I got lost and dropped out to get my bearings." Shadow Weaver kept circling her. 

"And why did you try and access Princess Entrapta's cell?" 

"I didn't, I-" The tendrils stabbed into her legs, flooding her veins with cold fire. She cried out in pain.

"Do NOT lie to me, Catra. Your badge was logged by the cell keypad." She grabbed Catra's jaw with her bony hand. "Why were you there?"

"I-I was worried okay!" She gasped through the pain. "I hadn't seen her since... for a long time, and when I saw her I wanted to check it out." 

Shadow Weaver stared at her for a long time before suddenly releasing her, the tendrils pulling out and disappearing. "Now Catra, if you were worried then you should have just come to me. We are keeping her in the cell until we have a way of ensuring her loyalty, do not worry." Shadow Weaver walked away and towards the throne. "She will be out and amongst us soon enough, you have my word."

"Thank you, Shadow Weaver." Catra kneeled. "May I leave? I have duties to attend to."

Shadow Weaver waved her away. "Of course, child." 

Catra stood and left the chamber. The moment she was out of sight she slipped into a dark crevice and sat down hugging her knees. What did Shadow Weaver mean by that? Did she have a time limit now? She groaned. After the Rebellion's little invasion they'd found Hordak's cage cut open, apparently. She didn't know where they took him but she could hear the screaming through the vents. Now she had to get the both of them out before Shadow Weaver did something even more fucked up to Entrapta. She took a deep breath and stood.

Catra walked down the dark corridor to Hardak's cage. She'd been here enough times that she didn't even need a light to find her way. He was sitting in the middle of the cage, staring blankly out when she arrived. The noise played and he twitched then slowly, dully, turned to look at her. 

"Hey Hordak." She said quietly. "I'm still trying to come up with a plan, we'll get you out soon though." No response, he never responded. "I found Entrapta." That got a slow blink. "She's... she's not great, but we'll get her out too, I swear." Her hand touched the cool rough durasteel of the bars, she still had no idea how to open this thing. Hordak twitched, suddenly agitated, and he scrambled back. She almost said something to comfort him before she heard the footsteps. Eyes wide, she stepped back into a crevice. 

The thug from Orientation was walking towards them, a torch held loosely in one hand. When he reached the cage he turned to Hordak, who flinched away from the questing light.

"Hey babe." He said hungrily. "Ready to have some fun?" 

Catra was about to slip away when Hordak made a noise, a little half sob, and she realised she couldn't. Her hand dropped to the collapsed quarterstaff on her hip.

"Now now..." he said as he undid his belt. "You know I don't lik-" 

Catra brought the weighted staff down on his head and he dropped to the ground. She stood there, breathing hard, before she clubbed him again and again until his skull caved. The staff slipped from her grip and she dropped onto her knees, grabbed his ruined head and smashed it onto the concrete until the impacts turned wet. She was vaguely aware of her own screaming. Something flashed in the dark, a small grey tab with a glowing rune attached to a loop around his neck. She yanked it free and turned it over in her hand. Hordak, she realised, was staring at her blankly with his mouth slightly open. "What's this for?" He blinked slowly again and tapped the bar. She touched the tab to it and the cage swung open.

She caught the door, Hordak still staring at her from the floor. "I... we... we don't have a plan yet." She choked. "They'll catch us... and they'll kill you. I'm sorry, we're not ready yet." 

She pushed the door shut again, tears in her eyes. She grabbed the corpse's legs and started dragging it away, the little rune stuffed in a pouch. Hordak's yellow eyes watched her go.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't long before someone found out. All the Force Captains were lined up before the throne, Shadow Weaver pacing about in front of them. 

"It seems..." She began. "That someone has acted rashly." Catra stood straight, eyes locked on a vague smear of oil on the floor. "I assume no one will confess? No?" She gestured off to the side. "Very well, there was a witness." 

A pair of huge mutated creatures dragged Hordak into the room, the thick collar round his neck chained to one of their belts. Catra closed her eyes. They dropped him next to Shadow Weaver, and she spun a dark disk out of the air and settled it over Hordak's head. He grunted.

"This is a truth spell." She announced. " If he lies, then it will hurt him. Very very badly. So you won't lie, will you." When he didn't respond the mutant yanked his chain, hard, and he gasped out.

"No..." It was the first word Catra heard him say in over a month. 

"Very good Hordak. Now, tell us who killed Dilk." 

Hordak looked over the line of Force Captains, his eyes passing over Catra without stopping and settled on someone on the other side. 

"Her..." 

The room stank of oil and ozone and Shadow Weavers magic but Catra had the best nose in the Horde. She could smell his flesh burning but he didn't react at all. The Force Captain he chose did, however.

"What the fuck do you mean me, you bitch!" She screamed and tried to advance on him, Catra recognised the other voice from orientation, but Shadow Weavers magic enveloped her and pulled her down into a swirling dark mass. She screamed, gurgled, and fell silent. 

"You are all dismissed." The mutants dragged Hordak away but not before Catra saw him look at her and blink.

Catra tapped her foot, nervous and cold as she stood on the windy landing pad watching the skiffs land. They disgorged sparse clumps of Hordesmen, battered and exhausted from weeks of constant combat. Just as she began to lose hope she spotted the hulking red and white of Force Captain Scorpia as she led the rest of Catra's old squad over to the entrance. 

She couldn't help herself, running towards them and all but tackling Scorpia as she hugged her. 

"Woah, Wildcat! This is new!"

Catra sniffed loudly, her face buried into Scorpia's chest. "I missed you." The big woman smiled, exhaustion etched into her face.

"I missed you too Catra, and I'm not complaining, but why were we called back?" 

Catra pulled back and looked over them. All of them ragged and scarred, Kyle had a thick bandage around one eye and Lonnie was missing a few fingers, they glared at her with wary eyes.

"I need your help."

"How could this happen Catra!?" Scorpia balled in their private quarters. 

It was normally cramped but with five people, two of them very large, it was suffocating. Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio were watching her with hollow eyes as she tried to explain the situation to Scorpia. The woman looked ready to murder someone and Catra was determined to keep as much of the blood on her own hands as possible. 

"I don’t know Scorpia, and when I found out everything just started falling apart. We need to work together here... I think Shadow Weaver might already suspect me." 

Kyle spoke up. "What do you need us to do?" 

Catra looked at the unhealthily skinny boy and smiled. 

"I'm gonna pull some more strings; get you into records and Lonnie and Ro into the skiff bay. We need to figure out who's guarding Entrapta's cell so we can get their badge, and then break both her and Hordak out and get them to a skiff before anyone notices." 

She looked over them all, trying very hard to hide her fear and desperation. Eventually Lonnie shook her head. 

"All right, we're in."

It took weeks to get everyone in place and a plan sorted, time that wore away at Catra's conscience and resolve, but things were finally moving. She walked along the busy corridor, careful to position herself to the oncoming Kyle's blindside. They collided and he dropped the armful of data pads he was carrying. 

"Hey, watch it!" Catra hissed at him and powered on, info crystal hidden carefully in her pocket. With a smirk she realised why Kyle was so good at poker.

Regis Luton stood washing his hands in one of the ancillary restrooms. He had just come off a long shift and as much as he really did enjoy sparking the annoying princess he was dead on his feet. Yawning heavily he pushed the door open and almost ran into Catra.

"Force Captain!" He barked, snapping a passable salute. She looked him over, her boredom obvious. 

"Yeah whatever." She waved him off and relaxed. Catra wasn't bad for an FC, as long as you stayed on her good side. He turned away from her and was about to walk away when the wire cord slipped over his head and pulled tight around his throat.

She walked through the small guard room confidently, she was a force captain after all, and it didn't matter that the five occupants were watching her curiously.

"Force Captain...?" One of them began but she silenced him with a glare and held her badge up to the access panel, turning it around to display Luton's at the last moment. The panel 'pinged' happily and the door swished open. 

"Don't disturb me." 

The stink of antiseptic and ozone hit her immediately and she almost gagged. She tried her best not to look into the other cells, there was nowhere she could get anyone else out, but she did look in on Octavia. The former force captain was lying in the same spot and position as she had been all those weeks ago. Catra shuddered and pushed on to Entrpta's cell. The scientist was facing towards the mirror this time; she looked thin and wasted, her eyes ringed with fatigue.

Catra couldn't stop herself. She pressed the stolen badge to the door and it slid open. 

"Entrapta…?"

The words come out quiet and strained. Entrapta glanced up at her, still typing away on the pad clutched in her hands, muttering to herself. 

"Isolation Day 36... 38. Audio-Visual hallucinations have returned."

Catra stared at her. "Entrapta, no. I'm real, I'm here to get you out." She didn't respond, tapping away as tears leaked from her eyes. The final strand of restraint snapped in Catra and she reached out to her and when her fingers touched Entrapta she jerked back, off the black circle.

Immediately an angry tone buzzed and Entrapta, eyes wide, began to jerk and seize on the ground. 

Catra reacted without thought and tried to enter the cell to help, the shock through her leg almost dropped her and she pulled back. An awful smell of burning plastic and skin began to fill the air and she grabbed her staff, extending it to full. She hooked it into one of Entrapta's dancing ponytails and dragged her out of the room. Catra tossed the staff away and checked her over, she wasn't breathing. She dropped to her knees and brought her fists down on Entrapta's heart, with a choking gasp Entrapta surged back to life. She sobbed and thrashed as Catra held her. 

"It's ok, it's ok! I've got you!" Catra grunted as Entrapta elbowed her in the gut in her rush to claw her hair. 

"It burns!"

Catra watched the smoking black ties binding the ponytails together writhe, she grabbed them and ripped them free with her claws. The door to the corridor opened and one of the guards strode in. 

"What was-" He saw them on the floor and swore. Before Catra could react, Entrapta's hair bowled her over and rushed down the corridor. The greasy violet tendrils grabbed the fleeing guard by the limbs. 

Bones snapped as another ripped off his helmet and plunged down his screaming throat. He jerked and shuddered then went still as the tendril pulled out, slick with blood and trailing bits of lung.

Catra recoiled back from her and Entrapta stumbled to her feet and looked at Catra, eyes full of fear. 

"Entrapta, wait!"

She jumped at the sound and ran through the door, straight into the guardroom. It shut behind her and immediately Catra heard muffled crashes and screams. The cat flipped upright and sprinted after her, skidding to a halt when the door violently deformed outwards. She heard a stun baton discharge. The door managed to open halfway before it jammed in the frame but was still wide enough for her to squeeze through.

The room was a ruin; desks, chairs and weapon racks scattered haphazardly around. The crumpled remains of one guard was still embedded in the door, the legs of another stuck out from under a massive toppled computer rack. The thirds head was a pulped mess, stun baton sparking wildly in her hands, and the fourth looked like they'd been twisted in half. Entrapta was leaning heavily on an overturned table and panting as she held her hand to a nasty burn on her side. Her blood soaked hair flicked about the room, questing for targets, and her manic eyes darted onto Catra. 

"Entrapta, wait-" The princess took a step forward and toppled, out cold before she hit the floor. Catra slid down the wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. One of Entrapta's hair strands was splayed out and limp a foot away from her. She shuddered. Her badge buzzed, Scorpia calling her. 

"What?”

Scorpia's voice was tense. "Uh Wildcat? We have a problem."

Catra groaned, the External Infiltration Alarm started blaring. "What now?!?"

"I don't like this, Bow." Glimmer's whisper was full of tension. She had teleported the pair of them into some dark corner of the Fright Zone, somewhere they hadn't ever probed before. The shadows seemed to curl and hiss away from glowing magic held in her fist. 

"I don't like it either, Glimmer, but we need to do this. The person I found here... they need help." 

She sighs and shuffles closer to him. "This place feels worse than the last time we were here." 

Bow shuddered. "I think it _did_ get worse. Ok, it's just down here." He started down a pitch black corridor, navigating it with ease; it had been burned into his mind after the last time.

They finally came to the damp, cold corner where the cage sat. Glimmer had been jumping and flinching at the random bursts of painful noise, she was just about to break silence to demand what it was when her light illuminated the starved and battered figure slumped on the floor. 

She gasped in shock and they jerked awake, cringing away from light. His yellow eyes flashed in the dark as his mouth pressed together to suppress a whimper. 

"What the fuck is this Bow?" She hissed as Bow slowly approached the cage. 

"I don't know.” He snapped back. “Hey friend, hey. It's okay." 

The person in the cage just stared at Bow. Their mouth opened slightly, revealing a few broken fangs glowing red in the dark, and made a small whimpering noise. Bow's smile faltered a second but he forced it back up. 

"It's okay, we're here to help you. We're going to get you out of this cage and-" They pressed themselves up against the far away wall.

"No, no..." He sighed. "Ok, don't mention leaving. How do we do this Glimmer?" The princess was staring at the prisoner, she glanced at Bow. 

"It's alright Bow, I've got this." She cracked her knuckles and Bow realised what she was planning. 

"No don't!" She poofed into the cage next to them, grabbed their arm, and teleported back out. 

The prisoner screamed.

Scorpia had tried her best to sneak into the sublevels without being noticed. Unfortunately she wasn't quite as stealthy as Catra, which was why she was currently trying to explain herself to the pair of guards who were apparently responsible for coordinating Hordak's 'visitors'. She'd had to repress a shudder at the way they'd said that.

"Look, I'm telling you I have permission to, uh, visit ok? I have the little rune thing and everything." She held the stone chip awkwardly in her claw. 

The guard looked at her sceptically. "I'm sorry Force Captain, but we don't have you down here." They gestured at a clipboard covered in scrawled writing. "Ever since the murder Weaver wants everyone to follow procedure and book a slot."

She was about to respond when a faint scream echoed past the door. The guards immediately jumped up, one pointing their weapon at Scorpia while the other started to open the lock. 

"Hey, easy I'm-" but the guard cut her off.

"Shut it and walk away, and we won't report you." Scorpia watched the barrel of the stun baton cautiously until she heard the door click open. Her claw swung up faster than the guard could react and sliced the baton in half. He cried out in alarm but she was already on him, slamming the back of her pincer into his face and sending him to the ground. 

The other guard spun, raising her own weapon, but Scorpia had speed and strength on her side and she easily overpowered the guard. She cried out in pain as her arm snapped but Scorpia bashed her into the wall and she fell silent. Panting heavily, Scorpia ran into the dark as another scream echoed out.

Bow was panicking, this wasn't how things were supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to be pinning down a hysterical torture victim as they screamed and cried like his touch was burning them. 

Glimmer picked herself up off the ground, rubbing the nasty bruise on her face from where their flailing had smacked her. 

"Hold him down Bow!" She yelled, and the prisoners screaming somehow got worse.

Bow was sure that if they weren't so obviously weak and malnourished then he wouldn't be winning this. He managed to position himself over their back, pressing his weight down to stop them from breaking free. Their breathing picked up even faster, the screams mostly becoming sobs, Bow was certain he could hear their heart pounding. With a choked gasp they slumped and went still.

"No.... oh no." Bow rolled them over gently. "They’re still breathing... must have fainted." 

Glimmer shook herself. "Bow, what happened here?" 

He looked at her, eyes hollow. "I don't know, I think..." Suddenly he was aware of pounding footsteps. 

Force Captain Scorpia skidded round the corner and saw the archer, lying on top of Lord Hordak. He looked even worse than she'd imagined. Rage twisted her features and she roared, charging them. Before she could get to Hordak the princess grabbed them both and disappeared in a puff of magic. She slowed to a halt and leaned against the wall, tapping her badge. 

"What?" Catra's terse answer.

"Uh Wildcat? We have a problem."

Kyle paced the hallway, Catra and Entrapta were supposed to be here by now and so far the vents were empty. He squeaked when the alarms started up. 

“Oh no.” 

It was a five minute jog to the skiff pad from here and then he’d be back with Lonnie and Rogelio; he’d be safe… if he left them. Kyle turned away from the vent and started to run towards the solitary cells. 

“I’m screwed, I’m absolutely fucked…” 

Catra was struggling to drag Entrapta along. The princess was _heavy_ , even though she pretty clearly starved she was still stocky and had a shocking amount of muscle. The metres of blood soaked hair didn’t help, nor did the wide slick of red she was leaving behind them. 

Catra had given up trying to stuff her into the vents and was braving the corridors, trusting that the low red emergency lights would disguise the blood and give her time to duck them both into doorways and crevices. 

She heard running footsteps and pulled Entrapta behind a pillar just in time for Kyle to run past and slip on the blood trail, crashing noisily to the ground. 

“Kyle!?”

He groaned in response. 

“What are you doing here? Wait, never mind. Grab her legs, I need help.” Kyle picked himself up and almost slipped again after seeing Entrapta. 

“What happened to her, is she alright?!” He scrambled over and heaved up her legs. 

“She ripped five guards apart and then fainted, she’s… fine. Now come one, we need to get to the skiff bay.” 

Scorpia ran as fast as she could, barging through the swarming crowds of Hordesmen and ignoring their shouts of surprise and their requests for orders. She was making good time, not long now until she linked up with Catra and then everything would be alright. A frozen vice seemed to clamp around her whole body and she jerked to a halt mid-step. 

“Force Captain Scorpia, where are you going in such a rush…” Shadow Weaver’s indulgent voice whispered around her as the sorceress slid into view, flanked by a pair of her hulking, slavering mutants. She tried to answer but her mouth wouldn’t move, all she managed was a muffled grunt. Shadow Weaver held a hand out and the little rune key floated off of Scorpia’s chest and hovered in the air. 

“Curious. I have been informed you attacked the guards to our pet’s cell right before he was taken, why?” She clenched her fist and red lighting sparked over Scorpia’s carapace, she groaned in pain. 

“Who are you working with? Tell me!” The lighting seared her, reaching into her very core. Something shifted and gave way inside her. Scorpia opened her eyes, glowing with red light. 

“Never.” She snarled and the world exploded.

Shadow Weaver sat up, her mask cracked and loose, and saw Scorpia standing before her; red lighting arcing around her. The big force captain shook her head and sagged, the power of the Black Garnet receding, before she turned and ran. 

“Kill her!” Shadow Weaver screeched and her mutants roared and chased after her.

“I can see the bay door!” Kyle hauled Entrapta as fast as he could. 

“Keep going, don’t stop!” Catra was flagging, she’d been in too many fights and had been dragging Entrapta herself for too long, but she summoned what reserves she had and pushed on. 

Without warning a side corridor door exploded open and Scorpia tumbled out of it, wrestling with a snapping mass of shadow and dripping flesh. Kyle screamed and pulled back but Catra dropped Entrapta and caught his arm. 

“Keep. Moving.” She snarled and threw herself at the mutant. 

Scorpia was panicking, she could feel its aciding tentacles burning through her claws and could hear the snapping needle teeth behind its thick iron mask. She hauled it over her and kicked it into the far wall, just in time for Catra to tackle it to the ground and start clawing it. 

“Catra, watch out!” Before she could move the second crashed into her and raked a scything razor across her back. 

She rolled with the blow and stabbed her claw into its guts, stinking black filth tumbled out and her carapace hissed. Her other claw clamped around its neck and sheared the armoured head off its shoulders. The mutant flailed briefly before it’s flesh sloughed off, leaving a steaming pile of bone.

Scorpa spun and went to help Catra, but the other force captain slashed her mutant across the mask and yelled at her. 

“Go, help Kyle!” 

She hesitated, before running over and scooping up the both of them and running for the door. Kyle cried out to Lonnie and Rogelio, who were both rushing over to them. Lonnie pulled Entrapta from Scorpia’s arms and started carrying her to the skiff, Kyle close behind her. Scorpia and Rogelio went to help Catra but she was already running towards them. 

“Close the door!” She yelled and Rogelio slammed his fist onto the control stud. 

She dove through the narrowing gap but came up short when a grasping, hooked pseudopod wrapped around her leg. The door closed on her, just below her knee and she screamed. Rogelio and Scorpia grabbed her arms and heaved and with a wet tear she came free, all of the flesh stripped from her lower leg. They dragged her to the skiff and she looked dumbfounded as her skeletal foot detached from her ankle and she fell into shock.

The skiff tore off the landing pad and dropped down into the Whispering Woods. Rogelio held the thrashing Catra down as Lonnie cut away the rapidly necrotising flesh with a heat knife, the smell of searing flesh smothered Scorpia and it took all of her strength not to scoop Catra up and hold her. 

Instead, she moved up to where Kyle was wrestling with the tiller. 

“Want me to take over?” She gestured to her eye, Kyle shook his head. 

“I can see well enough, uh, where do you want me to take us?” 

Scorpia frowned, Catra was the one with the plan but she was currently slipping in and out of consciousness.

“They’ll take Hordak to Brightmoon, right?” 

Kyle nodded slowly.

“We’ll never make it past the frontline, not now,” She continued, “and we can’t stay in Horde territory, either.” 

“Then where do we go?” Kyle asked, a wobble in his voice. 

“The Crimson Wastes.” They both looked at Lonnie, her face grim as she wrapped Catra’s ruined leg in bandages. “They’ll never look for us there, we can rest and get our bearings.” 

She tied the bandage off and moved over to check Entrapta’s breathing. 

“It will give them time to recover as well.” 

Scorpia shook her head. “No way, the Wastes are deadly. We won’t last five minutes out there without support or a guide.”

“Ro’s been there.” She thumped her fist on the lizards chest. “Ain’t that right, big guy?” He growled nervously. 

“Seriously dude? You told us before, now is not the time to be shy!” 

He roared and hissed, looked down and Catra and yowled quietly. Kyle passed the tiller to Scorpia and walked over to them, he hugged Rogelio and put his forehead onto his chest.

“It’s alright, Ro, we’ll be with you. Nothing will happen.” Lonnie hugged his side and he growled softly, tongue flicking over both their heads. 

“Uhhh… what’s happening?” Scorpia asked, blushing. Lonnie untangled herself and poked her on the chest. 

“We’re going to the Wastes, Ro’s gonna find us somewhere safe, then we’re gonna get the girls back on their feet.” She winced and glanced at Catra. “After that, we go get Lord Hordak back.”


	3. Chapter 3

He floated in darkness, though not the kind he was used to. It wasn’t cold and oppressive, stinking of damp and his own fear, rather it was the warm blanket of total oblivion. Slowly, very slowly, his senses returned. The pain was indescribable, as it always was, but there was a softness now, a gentle comfort he had never experienced. The scent of perfume flowers and fresh linen made his nasal passage tingle. His eyes snapped open, wide and panicked.

He wasn’t in his cage. He wasn’t in his cage! Hordak’s chest clenched painfully around his lungs and he sucked in tiny, rapid breaths heart pounding so hard he felt like it would burst. The light blanket covering him was painful and crushing. 

He rolled out the bed and fell to the polished marble ground. It reflected his bruised face, cracked fangs and yellow-red eyes. He choked out a sob, and scrambled away from it, the reflection chasing him across the floor. The wall came up fast behind him, lacquered wooden panels thumping into him. He slammed his head back into it and white fire flashed across his eyes and he gasped, dimly aware of the hollow thud it had made. 

He tried desperately to pry the panel loose but his clipped fingers had no purchase, painfully slipping from it’s edges. Crying out in pain and fear, he spotted a wall hanging made of slivered metal. He pulled it from the walls, adrenaline and terror giving him strength that he did not possess, and jammed it into the wall, levering the panel loose with a pop. Behind it there was an unlit crawlspace, dark and musty. He forced himself into it, pulled the panel shut behind him, and wept.

Bow whistled cheerfully to himself as he walked down the corridor to their guest’s room. He was carrying a small tray with a jug of water and a couple of bowls of fruits and meats. There was also a little pile of medication, painkillers and antibiotics mostly, and Bow was determined to get them to take some.

Their initial guess at the state of their guests' health had been wildly underestimated; the poor thing was riddled with poorly healed fractures, contusions and a shocking amount of internal bleeding, not to mention the malnutrition and sleep deprivation. The fact that they were still able to put up a fight when Bow and Glimmer had rescued them was kind’ve astounding. Well it didn’t matter now, he was sure that they would be able to get them back on their feet in no time! He carefully opened the door and stepped in; the tray falling from his hands when he saw the empty bed and the torn up wall.

The three of them were hunched around the obviously loose wall panel, Bow and Glimmer looking worried as Adora reached forward to gently pry the covering loose. It came off with a soft patter of loose masonry and revealed the warm, dark nook behind it. Their guest was curled up in a tight ball, barely able to fit in the space, their naked body covered in a layer of old dust thick enough to obscure the blue patterns on their skin. They twitched and whimpered when the light hit them.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Adora said softly. “We aren’t going to hurt you.” 

Their guest turned their head towards her, eyes wide and mouth slack. The light caught their eyes and for the briefest moment the flashed red. Adora gasped. 

“Hordak?”

“What are we supposed to do now?!” Glimmer whined, grabbing Bow by the shoulders and shaking him. “Hordak! In the guest room!”

“I think technically it’s the jail now.” Bow holds his hands up to fend her off. “Besides, I don’t think he’s going to be causing us much trouble…” He trailed off, glancing at the bed. 

Hordak was laying very still, with a blanket tucked around him, and stared blankly past them at the wall. Adora had taken it upon herself to guard him, sword drawn and ready, until the absurdity of what she was doing hit her. Hordak barely had the strength to lift his battered body into the bed, hells, he hadn’t even resisted when they had dragged him out of his hole. Just whimpered pitifully and stared at her with those huge yellow eyes.

“We need to tell my mom.” Glimmer said suddenly, and Bow grabbed her just as she teleported away. They reappeared in the throne room in front of Angella, she almost managed to greet them before Bow wrapped his arm around Glimmer’s mouth and tipped them both over. They disappeared in a puff of pink smoke. 

“Hhmm.” She went back to her book.

“What are you doing?!” Bow yelled. “You can’t tell her!” 

“Why?! It’s Hordak! He’s the enemy!”

“Have you looked at him!?” He screamed back. “Have you seen what they did to him!?”

Glimmer took a step back, shocked. “Bow, I…I’m sorry. You’re right, we can’t do anything… yet.” She said carefully. 

Bow sighed heavily. “I’m sorry Glimmer, I just… I saw him in that cage and he was so scared.” He trailed off and Glimmer went to comfort him when they both heard Adora yell.

“No!” Glimmer grabbed Bow and teleported them into the room. Hordak was gone and Adora was standing by the window, it was open. She looked back at them, distraught.   
“I went to the bathroom.” Her voice was cracking.   
Bow’s eyes widened and he ran over to the window. 

“Oh no…”

Scorpia hummed happily to herself as she stirred the big pot of bubbling stew. “Oh boy, Rogelio, I don’t know where you found meat out here but this smells amazing. 

Rogelio leaned up from the huddle of bodies that the other three members of their little mutiny had formed and growled at her. 

“Uhuh uhuh… what did he say?” Lonnie grumbled and translated.

“He said he found a lizard nest.” 

Scorpia looked at him for a moment before chucking awkwardly. “Oh, great…” She spooned some into a pair of dented bowls and wandered over to the tent and pushed her way in. Catra’s eyes flashed in the dim light. 

“Hey Wildcat!”

The cat groaned and plopped her head back down on the bedroll. “Not so loud, Scorpia. My head’s still pounding.” Scorpia shuffled quietly over and hunched down next to her.

“Here, eat up and make sure you drink something.” The big woman smiled softly at her and Catra accepted the bowl. 

“Who’s the other one for?” Scorpia looked over at the still unconscious form of Entrapta.

“She might wake up soon.” She said weakly, and put the bowl down on her opposite side. “I need to check your bandages, Catra.” Her claws moved down to Catra’s bandaged up stump.

“Just be careful.” She hissed, ears flat to her head. “How’s things going out there?”

Scorpia deftly stripped the off white bandages off, exposing the raw flesh and pale bone. She frowned, little specks of black still crept across the flesh. 

“Scorpia?” Catra asked again, quieter. “It’s still bad, isn’t it?”

“Nothin’ to worry about, Wildcat!” Scorpia replied cheerfully, rewrapping the stump. “Rogelio and Lonnie have found an old Horde camp a few miles from here and it’s mostly not looted! We’re gonna go find some more stuff tomorrow.” Her smile felt strained even to her.

“Oh… ok.” Catra listlessly spooned stew into her mouth. “Let me know if you find anything?” 

“We sure will, Catra!” Outside the tent Lonnie called Scorpia’s name. “Ah, be back later Wildcat, just get some rest ok?” She got up and left.

“Yeah, sure…” Catra mumbled, alone.

Hordak tumbled through the air. He really hadn’t intended to leap from the window but something in his abused body had given out at the worst moment and sent him toppling over the balcony’s low wall. He couldn’t think of what to do, the roaring wind in his ears blocked out all his thoughts and he knew there was no way the scant rose bushes below would break his fall. 

What Hordak didn’t expect was for those rose bushes to suddenly rush up to meet him, engulfing his thin frame in their thorny embrace and slowing his descent. 

“Are you okay?” The willowy flower princess asked, arms outstretched as she lowered him. “Jumping out of windows is foolish, there are always other options.” 

Hordak let out a strangled meep as petals bloomed around him. “Have you tried meditation?” She asked earnestly, as Glimmer, Bow and Adora appeared beside her with a sparkly poof.

“Oh my gosh is he ok?” Adora gasped, rushing to his side. The former lord of the Fright Zone could only struggle weakly against his fragrant chains and before exhaustion finally caught up to him.

Glimmer folded her arms, scowling. “He’s Hordak, Adora. Of course he’s ok.” 

Bow gave her an incredulous look, shifting his eyes between her and Perfuma. Glimmer’s eyes went wide. “I-I mean he’s-”

“This is Lord Hordak?” Perfuma asked slowly, a dark look spreading across her face. Her hands clenched, muscles bunching up her thin arms, and the rose bush cradling Hordak suddenly lashed around him. Petals wilted as the vines moved around him, turning dark and hardening into gnarled wood. Hordak cried out in pain as thorns erupted across them, piercing his flesh and pinning him in place.

“Perfuma stop!” Bow yelled, running to her side and grabbing her shoulders. “He’s not a threat! Look at him!”

Adora reached for her sword and realised she’d left it in the jail suite. Without a thought she grabbed the vines constricting around Hordak’s throat and tore them away, even as the thorns ripped at her hands. 

“He’s our prisoner!” She cried. “You can’t do this.”

“He tried to kill Plumaria.” Perfuma replied with cold focus. “He corrupted Entrapta.” 

Whipping vines threw Bow and Adora back, narrowly missing Glimmer as she teleported away. Hordak’s struggles increased briefly, before he sank into the writhing mass of wood and thorn.

Catra woke up from the nightmare with a strangled gasp, soaked in sweat. Every pooled shadow seems to swirl and shift around concealed fangs and rasping tendrils before her brain caught up with her eyes and the tent swam into focus.

The former Force Captain curled in on herself and began to sob quietly. It was a dream, just a dream. Shadow Weaver wasn’t here, her monsters weren’t stripping the flesh from her bones and everyone was safe. Eventually her breathing slowed and she sat back up. Her leg ached and itched worse than ever and she scratched the bandages idly.

“I can’t do this ‘Traps.” Catra muttered, looking over to the unconscious form of her friend. “It’s been days and I’m still in the Fright Zone.”

She picked up the canteen by her bedroll and shook it. Empty. With a sigh she dropped it, then glanced at the full one resting by Entrapta’s side. 

“You don’t mind, do you?” Catra asked and got no reply. “Thanks.” 

The cat stretched her back, tendons popping, before she leant over the princess and reached for her water. Entrapta’s eyes shot open. She screamed, hair lassing about.

“Entrapta, wait!”

Prehensile hair lashed over Catra’s limbs and squeezed. She felt something pop. 

“It’s me! Catra! You’re safe, please!”

Entrapta’s glazed eyes suddenly snapped to Catra, unbridled emotion burning away reflex and fear.

“C-Catra?” She managed.

Catra grimaced and fought through the burning pain in her leg. 

“Yeah, ‘Traps. It’s me.”

Hair uncoiled in an instant and dropped Catra with a yowl of surprise, right into Entrapta’s crushing embrace.

“You're real, this is real! I'm not hallucinating!”

Tears flowed again from Catra’s eyes as she hugged the princess back as best she could.

“Yeah… yeah I’m real. Now let me go princess.” 

With a sniff Entrapta released her and Catra sat back up. “You’ve been out for a long time, about a week and a half, so take it easy.” She lit the tent’s lantern and grinned. “I can’t believe you woke up.”

Entrapta tried to sit up herself and then immediately dropped back down. “Dizzy.” She mumbled and then looked around blinking. “Where are we?”

“The Crimson Wastes. “Catra answered, reaching back over her to collect the water canteen. “Here, drink some.”

She accepted the container and took a long draught. “The Crimson Wastes! I’ve always wanted to come here; there’s so much to learn, so much data to collect!” Her eyes fell on Catra’s leg.

“Oh cool, you lost a limb!”

Catra gaped at her, managing to squeak out a “What?!” 

Entrapta beamed up. 

“That means I get to make you a new one!”


End file.
